RHU Discussions

I'm a fan of going out to eat, when someone I know can afford it, however, most of the time we can't afford to tip.

Sometimes I read a lot of articles, or waitresses online complaining about lacks of tips, and what not. Or how rude it is not to tip at all. (Sometimes I read it's ridiculous a server's payment for rent depends upon tips.) I've really liked a few waitresses, but again; unable to tip.

Is it bad I go out to eat at restaurants and am unable to tip for the lovely service besides trying to be the best custy ever?

A question for all here who are in management positions: If an employee is going to come in sick and then ask to go home early because they are sick, would you rather they have just called in, even if they were to call in only an hour before their shift starts?

I woke up this morning with a damn cold out of nowhere. Coughing my head off, so hard I'm giving myself headaches and chest and back pain. I tend to only wake up an hour before my shift starts when I work in the morning (today I was scheduled to come in at 11:15) and I decided to try and power through it. Well, about an hour and a half into my shift I had a coughing fit so bad I thought I was going to pass out and puke, so I asked if it would be at all possible to go home early.

That was over an hour ago, I had to wait for one manager to get here at 2 before deciding what to do, then they were all "We're only going to have three people if you go home, go on break and take something and we'll see if we can find someone to come in to replace you". Firstly, if I had something to take, I would have taken it by now. Secondly, I'm sorry, this isn't a "My tummy hurts a little, can I leave?" five minutes into my shift, I am sick and knew you guys would probably need me but I can't fucking be vertical right now.

So, should I have just called in this morning, even though they want three hours' notice for not coming in? One of my managers, the one explaining all of this to me, is giving me death glares every time she has to ask me a question or whatever. I feel like I fucked up for going against my judgement and trying to help them out today.

I just read a list of 28 things all holiday retailers are tired of hearing. The last one about ruining a parent's kid's Christmas really got to me.

This is what I'd like to say when someone says, "You're ruining my kid's Christmas!"

"Actually, I am not doing anything to ruin your child's Christmas. I am merely a person who handles sales of whatever merchandise we have here. I have no control over what happens with this merchandise, nor do I control who buys it. In fact, the only person ruining your kid's Christmas is you, since you did not have the common sense to try to find this item sooner. Now please refrain from using me as a scapegoat as to why Santa Claus* didn't bring your child the gift they wanted this year,OK?"

If only I could say that, but my tenure in the field would be terminated, and the agency would disavow any knowledge of my actions! Still, it's fun to think about saying.

--Sales Agent Guy

What would you like to say to a parent who accuses you of ruining their kids Christmas?

While Macy's and Walmart have led a retailer stampede to kill Thanksgiving for millions of Americans and these corporate machines could care less about petitions and their employees, there is something you can do as a Black Friday Shopper.

Shower those retail workers with intentional acts of kindness.

Show them you care that they have to work long, strange hours during a holiday that used to be devoted to family and friends. That many of them won't even get a Thanksgiving Dinner or they'll have to do it the day before or the weekend after.

Here are 5 ways you can make a tired retail worker's day on Thanksgiving or Black Friday:

1. Bring Them Thanksgiving Desert

Bring them a piece of Pumpkin Pie or a baked treat.

A few years back I posted a story on RHU that involved a Blockbuster Slave who had to work on Thanksgiving. During the early evening hours a customer came in with his young daughter and handed out pumpkin pie to all the people working there! What an awesome act of retail kindness!

Another RHUer suggested any kind of Thanksgiving food:

Go to Walmart, Sears, K-Mart, etc, but don't shop. Show up with Thanksgiving food. Treat the workers with a meal and some good cheer, then leave. Make sure you're on camera, as well, so the VIP's that forced these good people away from their holiday see it later.

2. Bring Them a Drink

Even though most retail workers would prefer a cocktail to coffee, they will be quite touched to receive any kind of drink from a custy.

When I worked at The Big Fancy, the handbag counter was nearby the coffee bar. We were often given Lattes and coffee cards from custys who appreciated our service or saw that we were working really hard.

3. Give Them a Sweet Treat

Hogwarts isn't the only place where chocolate can cure the blues. It does wonders in Retail Hell. Chocolate bars or candy can definitely sweeten up sucky shift!

4. Buy Them Lunch

Purchase a Store, Mall, or Fast Food Gift Card they can use it on their break for lunch or dinner.

Obviously this might be a little expensive to do for the random cashier or sales associate, but if you are friendly with a retail worker or salesperson from a store you shop at often, this is the perfect day to show your appreciation for the great service they give you all year long.

5. Straighten a Messy Display

Well, maybe not one this messy. But you get the idea. I talked to a few ladies who worked at a Ross store where the photo above was taken and they told me they have to work till 3am during the holidays straightening up the messes of piggy shoppers.

In my last book, Return to The Big FancyI wrote about a custy who straightened the entire wallet display while I was wrapping a handbag she bought for a present. I was stunned! And oh so happy!

6. Thank Them for Working on Thanksgiving

Maybe you can't afford to buy anything, but simply thanking a retail worker for sacrificing their Thanksgiving memories with family (even if it's at a place where they are nicely paid for it), will put a smile on their face and make them feel that their service is appreciated.

Okay RHU, now I KNOW you all have some great ideas on how shoppers can brighten the day of service workers on Thanksgiving and Black Friday,

BassLady here... I've got a new job, but I can't think of anything else to call myself.

I haven't posted in awhile, but I'm now in need of some reassurance...

Anyway, after over six months of unemployment, (my exit was rather spectacular. Heh.) I got a job as a part-time seasonal character at a tourist attraction.

On a mountain.

For minimum wage.... Aw hell, a gig is a gig, right? I'll be earning cash-ola for presents, right?

Uh, yeah.... I keep telling myself that.

So now I get to squeeze my fat ass into a mini skirt and then freeze it off, directing sheeple to the obese personification of the winter solstice celebration. That's right, I have to stand outside.

In costume.

With NO coat; and I'm supposed to act like it's summer vacay, or something.

So.... lots and LOTS of layers....

HOLY Thrognar's balls, RHU! I've lost my ever-loving MIND!!

What I'm most worried about is keeping my cool if/ when some mom-zilla barks at me for telling her spawn to get off the rail from the 700-METER DROP! Or, somebody expecting to see something, but it's night, and DUH... no light.

I heard that management there is great, and backs up their people, so we'll see...

Friday, 21 Nov. is my first day, so please pray for me to whatever passes as your higher power. Any encouragement you can give a poor, old (well, 39) slave re-entering hell is appreciated, too. :-)

This is what's really going on behind the scenes if any caring shoppers want to know. Some of the few retail giant companies involved here, like Walmart, and others are completely lying out their asses saying they are giving the employees the opportunity to have it off if they want...total corporate bullshit...We all know what the choices are. Work it or be fired. They love to feed the media lies about how they run their companies when it comes to retail workers....

Sadly, as we've all seen in the past, petitions do no good with these heartless corporate monsters.

From Yahoo:

Forget about getting up at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving to run a turkey trot or to start roasting a bird in the oven. This year a slew of retailers will once again be upping the holiday-shopping ante by opening for business, and Kmart is hoping to get the jump on its competitors. Shoppers at the retailer’s 1,077 stores can start hunting for a Blue Light Special starting at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The store won’t shut its doors until midnight on Black Friday, 42 hours later—and some employees are allegedly being required to clock in or face getting fired.

The long hours and lack of flexible scheduling spurred Delaware resident Jillian Fisher to launch a petition asking Kmart to end its draconian holiday policy. She asked the company to commit to letting her mom, Donna Fisher, who has worked for Kmart for 21 years, and other “employees to request Thanksgiving Day off and to rely on volunteer employees.”

“We understand that it is retail, and employees understand that they have to work hours on holidays,” wrote Jillian in the petition. “However, Kmart’s unnecessary hours are forcing its employees to miss out on important time with their families. With lives that are continuously busier and busier, it is more important now than ever to put an end to this before we no longer have holidays. There are other stores who have decided to close on Thanksgiving to give their employees time with their families. Why not be in the news in a positive light? The sales can wait a few more hours.”

In the past week, nearly 5,000 people have signed the petition, and the manager at Donna Fisher’s store has since scheduled her for her preferred shift. But Jillian Fisher isn’t backing down.

“What started out as a daughter’s fight for her mother has revealed larger problems,” said Jillian. That’s because the store’s holiday hours and the way it is scheduling employee shifts is just another sign of the canary in the retail worker’s coal mine.

“As far back as I can remember, my mother has always worked both Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” said Jillian. “The change [at Kmart] has been with the longer hours, delays in receiving a schedule, and schedules that impede on spending quality time with family during the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Kmart says associates know what they’re getting into when they accept a job at the company, and it claims it takes employee schedules into consideration.

“Our stores do their very best to staff with seasonal associates and those who volunteer to work holidays,” the company said in a statement. “All associates are compensated time-and-a-half pay for the hours they work on Thanksgiving Day. We want to express deep appreciation in advance to all associates who will be working Thanksgiving evening and the day after Thanksgiving.”

Jillian conducted an unofficial poll of 56 individuals who claimed to be Kmart employees and who work at various stores across America. Only three people told her they were being allowed to take the day off. Several respondents told her that if they called in on Thanksgiving, they’d be fired. Only seven employees said Kmart management asked associates about their a

availability during the holiday.

With Thanksgiving only a week away, according to Jillian, many Kmart employees still don’t know what hours they’ll be scheduled to work. That makes it tough for them to plan whether they will be home for a turkey dinner or if they’ll be picking through leftovers on their own.

“One simple solution that we hope will be the outcome of this petition is for stores, such as Kmart, to rely on volunteer employees,” said Jillian. “A sign-up sheet should be posted with enough advance notice (at least 2-3 weeks ahead of time), and those who want to work can sign up. As a result, stores could open, individuals who want it can still have access to in-store shopping at stores whose employees have opted to work on Thanksgiving.”

Last year a University of Connecticut poll found that 90 percent of Americans were not in favor of slogging through a store’s aisles on Thanksgiving. So it’s no surprise that some Kmart shoppers are coming down hard on the retailer.

“Not only will I not shop on Thanksgiving, I will not be shopping at Kmart for any of my holiday shopping. Black Friday deals are awesome, but when you take away your employees’ Thanksgiving to get a jump start on your seasonal sales, your greed and lack of family values are disgusting!” wrote Vicki Null-Lanum on the Kmart Facebook page.

“Well you won’t see me in your stores on Thanksgiving. Or the other 364 days of the year if you fire people for a holiday. Shame on Kmart,” commented Rich Geiger, another Facebook user.

Of course, if nobody showed up at Kmart (or other retailers like Macy’s and Walmart) on Thanksgiving, stores would get the message that spending time with family members on the holiday still matters. If there are no shoppers scrambling for a deal on a flat-screen television, there’s no reason to be open.

“I remain concerned for the countless employees at Kmart’s remaining 1,000 plus stores across the country,” said Jillian. “I plan to continue to fight not just for my mother, but for every family that has to choose between spending time together and working longer hours.”